Anyone have experience with Paola Migliorini as a tour guide/private driver? He is recommended in Rick Steves' Florence guidebook. We were thinking to hire for a day to tour Tuscany countryside.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
Is he a licensed tour guide or just a driver? Most drivers are not licensed guided and cannot take you on a tour. I would first email him to ask if he's actually a licensed guide or just a driver.
Is there any reason you don't want to rent a car and tour by yourself? You can easily rent a car for a day and visit where ever you wish.
Donna
Posted by
Alta Loma, CA, USA
1446 posts
I successfully used drivers for sightseeing along the Amalfi Coast but rented a car and drove throughout Tuscany and other parts of Italy which did not pose driving challenges. As Donna asked, is there a reason you don't want to rent a car and drive yourself? It's very easy to drive in Tuscany as long as you don't drive into most city centers and park on the outside of walled towns, etc. we stayed at an Agriturismo so parking was not a problem.
Posted by
Florida
135 posts
I am not familiar with them but I booked a tour with Hills and Roads that took us from Florence all through Tuscany. It was the best thing my adult son and I could have done and well worth every euro. Our driver was Angela and we told her the types of things that we were interested in and let her do her thing. Every place she chose was a home run. The minimum was 6 hours and you can extend the tour as you go if you wish and pay with a credit card if you want at the end. We were out for 11 hours because it was so great and she was delightful. It was a definite highlight of our trip and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The reasons that this is better than renting a car in my opinion is because you can relax, enjoy the scenery, understand what you are seeing and the history behind it.
Posted by
Happy Valley, PA
672 posts
Paola is a woman. Her husband is Giuseppe. The own FlorenceTour In 2011, we hired them for a full day tour in Tuscany and also for a hotel transfer to Milano. I can speak for Giuseppe, since he was our driver on both trips. He was punctual, knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful (and spoke excellent English). All arrangements were made in advance via email with Paola. On our Tuscany day tour, we chose to visit San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, Volterra, and Siena. Giuseppe dropped us off in each of the city centers and we set a time to meet to go on to the next stop. It worked out very well. I would recommend them for your Tuscany day tour.